Philippe Candeloro

Philippe Candeloro (born 17 February 1972) is a French former competitive figure skater.

In 1979, at age seven, he began taking weekly ice skating lessons.

During one of his first lessons, trainer André Brunet noted Candeloro's potential and invited him to increase his skating practices.

At first, he participated in the village's hockey team but quickly veered into figure skating.

He stole one of his first pairs of skates.

His mother paid for them when the theft was discovered.

Within a few years of stepping onto the ice, Candeloro found himself on the fast track with the French figure skating federation.

He was invited to a summer training camp at Font-Romeu, which would become an annual event for him.

When he was 10, the French Federation offered him a place at the prestigious national training center in Paris, INSEP.

Candeloro refused this invitation, opting instead to continue training in Colombes with Brunet.

At the age of 16, he left school to concentrate full-time on his training.

By sixteen, Candeloro was receiving attention from both the French Federation and the international skating community.

He participated in the closing ceremony at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary and began to work with choreographer Natacha Dabadie.

His goal of competing at the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France was derailed in October 1991 when he broke his leg.

He finished third at the French nationals and was assigned to the post-Olympic World Championships, where he placed ninth.

In the 1992–93 season, Candeloro won gold at the 1992 NHK Trophy and silver at the 1993 European Championships.

He finished fifth at the World Championships.

In the first half of the following season, he placed fifth at Skate America and earned medals at three events — Piruetten, International de Paris, and NHK Trophy — before becoming French national champion for the first time.

Candeloro used music from the soundtrack of Conan the Barbarian in his free skating program during the 1992-1993 season, wearing a tunic over what appeared to be skins and furs over dark brown trousers covered with fur shin guards.

The program's choreography emphasized his "somewhat wild skating style" and included what would become his signature spin, in which he would shoot both his feet from out of a squat and completing it on his shins.

For the 1993-1994 Olympic season, he set both his short and free skating programs to music from the Godfather films.

He wore loose brown and beige striped trousers and an off-white shirt and skated to tarantella rhythms.

As Ellyn Kestnbaum put it, he portrayed "a young tough, appearing to yell at someone in the distance, gesticulating vehemently, snatching off the chain around his neck, even directing obscene gestures at the audience".

He wore black trousers and a black shirt closed by a gold chain across his collar for his free skating program, with slicked-back hair.

He executed movements that portrayed the character Don Corleone, an older, more powerful man.

He continued to use the Godfather themes in later seasons, whitening his hair for his free skating program.

Candeloro had mixed results in the following years.

He is a two-time Olympic bronze medalist (1994, 1998), a two-time World medalist (1994 silver, 1995 bronze), a two-time European silver medalist (1993, 1997), and a four-time French national champion (1994–97).

He has been a commentator for French television during figure skating events at the Olympics.

He also made special appearance as himself and a villain's victim named "Frozer" in Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir.

Philippe Candeloro was born in Courbevoie, the youngest of four children.

His father, Luigi, was a mason, and, a few years after Philippe's birth, built a family home in the Parisian suburb of Colombes.

Early in his childhood Candeloro enjoyed swimming and elastic springboard.

Candeloro finished off the podium at the 1994 European Championships but a month later he won the bronze medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.

He ended his season with a silver medal at the 1994 World Championships in Chiba, Japan.

He then toured with Champions on Ice in the United States and performed in other shows.

In France, he attracted sponsorships and television and print publicity.

The bronze medalist at the 1995 World Championships in Birmingham, England, he placed ninth the next season at the 1996 World Championships in Edmonton, Canada.

After finishing off the podium at three Europeans in a row, he won silver at the 1997 European Championships in Paris, France.

In the 1997–98 season, Candeloro again placed fifth at the pre-Olympic European Championships but went on to win the bronze medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.